Support the Concordia Campus Parents & Friends as they seek to continue contributing to facility upgrades and other projects around the campus by purchasing your new 2018/19 Entertainment membership via the link below. The Entertainment Membership provides access to discounts on a wide range of activities, food outlets and restaurants, travel and hotel companies and more.

A full life, a full-on life, or a fulfilled life?

It is sad how busyness has almost become a badge of honour in today’s society. Everyone seems to be cramming so much into their lives and wearing themselves so thin that we can sometimes feel compelled to keep up. After all, it might be a little embarrassing to admit that our lives aren’t that busy when we hear the stories of other people running around trying to meet the commitments of their crowded schedule. ‘What are you doing with your life?’, they might ask.

Our spiritual theme for this term is The Fullness of Life, which is definitely not intended to encourage people to do more! For the fullness of life doesn’t come so much from packing more things into our lives; rather the fullness of life comes from appreciating the many gifts and experiences we receive every day, whether we are busy or not.

For Christians (who, by the way, are often some of the busiest people I know), fullness of life begins with the knowledge that we are connected to God, the source of all life. He created this whole world with a purpose and gave us, as human beings, a unique position within his creation. We live life to the full when we recognise this connection we have with God and see ourselves as custodians of his beautiful planet and all it contains. As people made to be connected to others, we also gain the most out of our lives when we appreciate the gifts we receive from God in the many enriching relationships we have.

It’s no surprise that wellbeing and mindfulness programs often focus on cultivating gratitude, for gratitude is a healthy antidote to anxiety, depression and a sense of urgency, things that are all so prevalent in the lives of many today. As people of faith, we can be grateful for the dignity we have as creatures made in God’s image, for the blessings we receive from being connected to others, and also for the saving work of Jesus, who became one of us and brought us back into a right relationship with our heavenly Father, that we might have eternal life.

Instead of life simply being a meaningless accident, instead of it just being about survival, or even about earning status in the eyes of others, our trust in the Lord’s purpose for this world gives our lives great meaning. Eternal life has started now and we can see each day as an opportunity to live this life to its full potential.

Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10.

We look forward to exploring this theme even further throughout the term.

This year our College will be participating in surveys managed by Research Australia Development and Innovation Institute (RADII). The surveys are being conducted for the College by RADII under a contract with Lutheran Education Australia.

The data that is collected will be used by the College and Lutheran Education Australia to develop strategies and implement initiatives to improve the quality of education offered by Lutheran Colleges.

Concordia students in Years 5 to 12 will receive an invitation to participate through their College email address and may complete their surveys during class time. In addition, parents and staff are invited to participate in the survey which will be open from Monday, 11 June until Monday, 2 July 2018. We hope the parent survey will help us to find out how well the College is managing the wellbeing of its students.

Parents will receive an email from Dr Jean Thompson at RADII with an invitation to respond to the survey online.

All survey responses go directly to RADII and are not identifiable by the College, unless you wish to indicate that you want your feedback to be identified. All data will be stored securely and the anonymity of all participants is assured.

If you do not want to participate in the survey or you do not want your child to participate, please notify the College by Wednesday, 16 May 2018.

We encourage you to respond to the survey as this provides valuable feedback to inform decisions regarding College improvement at Concordia College. When the feedback from the survey is received we will share the findings with you.

On Friday 13 April, the Year 12s celebrated the end of Term 1 with the annual Formal which was once again held at the Stamford Grand at Glenelg. It was great to see how much effort the students had gone to in dressing up for the occasion and making the most of the evening despite the inclement weather. Special thanks must go to the Action Leaders for all their efforts in organizing the event, to all the teachers who gave up their time to support the night, and to all the students for the manner in which they embraced what was a fantastic school event.

The College musical production of Legally Blonde was definitely a highlight of Term 1! It was an absolute pleasure to be involved in bringing this fast-paced, high energy and modern musical to life on the stage. We ventured back to the Hopgood Theatre at Noarlunga this year, which was a thrill for staff and students, and the amazing cast performed to enthusiastic audiences at each show.

The pit band consisted of 16 students and was led by the unflappable Ms Bronwyn Elsegood. With a score of over 400 pages, this show was very challenging for the musicians and singers. The sound created by the band was certainly professional and the catchy popular music was a hit with the cast and audiences alike.

A massive congratulations to the students involved whose incredible talent, commitment and enthusiasm were evident throughout the process. The experience created memories that will certainly remain with all involved for years to come.

At the Concordia Campus, we are always looking for avenues to connect our learning to the St John's Campus students ‘across the oval’. On Tuesday of Week 2, the Year 5 cohort gathered in The Suaviter to engage in student-constructed lessons on issues surrounding Coastal Management. Year 10 Geography students were required to design an interactive lesson to share with the students and the results were spectacular! Congratulations to the Year 10 students for creating such imaginative activities to engage their students! Guests were also privileged to witness to a traditional cultural welcome dance by Ariranibwai, who chose the activity to introduce and highlight the impact of global warming on his homeland of Kiribati.

We are looking forward to welcoming parents of Year 8 students to a cocktail-style function with a 'Paella & Platters' theme on Friday 25 May from 7-10pm in The Suaviter.

Tickets are $35 per person which includes dinner and drinks.

Book online today* or contact Angela Warrick, Community Engagement & Events Officer on 8272 0444.*Please note the booking link may not work in Internet Explorer so you may need to copy www.trybooking.com/VGSJ into another browser.

Well done to Noah 8LSI on being selected as a reserve in the State U16 Boys Basketball Squad. A great achievement!

During the recent school holidays, Ben 12CFI participated in the Special Olympics Australia National Games and won gold in the 4x100m relay and the shot put, as well as receiving a personal best in javelin. Congratulations, Ben!